Broken and Still Running
by Shewhoisawesome
Summary: The war is over. Everyone is enjoying themselves. Well, almost everyone. Leo runs again and the two camps are thrown into panic trying to find him. But how do you find someone who doesn't want to be found?
1. Running

**Hello reader! Read! **

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan. I am not him.  
**

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Leo smiled sadly at the Greeks and Romans in front of him, they didn't notice him but he was there. One of the seven. But no, no one cared about him, they only saw the cool demigods:

_Percy Jackson, Savior of Olympus_

_Annabeth Chase, Finder of the Athena Parthenos._

_Jason Grace, Praetor of Camp Jupiter_

_Piper McLean, Hero of Olympus_

_Hazel Levesque, Rider of Arion_

_Frank Zhang, Legacy of Poseidon _

He was just the Repair Boy.

The war was over, they had won. Everyone was at Camp Jupiter celebrating. It had recently been rebuilt after Leo's attack on it.

_Yes, that's right. YOU attacked the Romans didn't you?_

But that wasn't me.

_Did it look like you? Did it have your voice? _

Yes, it was my body, but I didn't have control.

_Well, that doesn't matter, the spirits only helped you, Greeks hate Romans right?_

No. We're friends now.

_Look around. They respect you for now. But one slip up, one mistake, one... Leo... moment and it's back to war..._

Leo looked up. Everywhere Greeks and Romans mingled, but he could see the distrust in the roman's eyes. The voice was right. This friendship was flimsy at best.

_Listening to a voice in your head, Leo? That's not good..._

You started it!

_Ahh. But you replied..._

Leo could practically see the voice smiling lazily at him, just like how Gaia had when she killed his mother.

_But you killed your mother didn't you?_

No. It was Gaia.

_Can Gaia produce fire? Your mother burned. No earth involved._

But it was because of Gaia that I burned the shop down!

_So you admit it was you?_

What! No! I- It's just that-

_Silly child. Everything is always your fault..._

Shut up.

Leo sighed and looked around. The other members of the seven were being praised and congratulated while Leo stood in the corner, lent against the wall. Unnoticed.

Nemesis' words came back to him in that moment;

_"And as for you, child of fire. Your worst hardships are yet to come. You always will be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren."_

Well, she was right. Leo pushed himself away from the wall and walked out off the hall. No one noticed, no one tried to stop him.

_That's right, Leo. Run away from your problems. Just like always._

Should he? Should he run? Leave this place and all of the almost-friends he had? Well, they probably wouldn't notice him. But could he leave The Argo 2? Festus? Leo wasn't sure.

_You'll just burn them._

The voice was right. He would burn them, hurt someone eventually. Then they would notice him, notice him because they hated him. He had to leave.

Leo walked to the Argo 2, where he was greeted by Festus' creaking.

"Hey buddy, we're leaving." Leo listened patiently to Festus and then replied,"no. Not with the Argo, just you and me."

Festus nodded and allowed Leo to detach his head from the prow of the huge war ship. Once this was done Festus folded himself into a small box that weighed a ton, but was easier to carry. Leo smiled and picked the box up, stowing it in his tool belt. He then walked to the Argo's kitchen and filled his backpack half full of food, then to his bedroom where he grabbed his clothes, etc.

Once this was done Leo left the beautiful ship he had built. He left everything he had. He walked to the boarder of Camp Jupiter, turned and smiled sadly down at his old life, that was the past now.

So Leo turned and did the one thing he could do better than anyone.

He ran.

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**AN) So? How was it? This is my first fanfic, so please be nice when you review! I am always open to suggestions so don't be afraid! :D REVIEW NOW PLEASE!  
**


	2. Noticing

**Hello again! Another update and on the same day! Go me!**

**Just a quick thank you to the people who have already reviewed, I really appreciate your comments so keep them coming! They help me write! :D  
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**Here we go! Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan. I am not him.  
**

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Percy smiled. Life was good right now. The war was over, everyone was fine. Okay, so _maybe _he and Annabeth were a little mentally scarred by what they saw in Tartarus, but that was to be expected. Right now though, he was happy. New Rome looked beautiful as he and the rest of the seven walked through its streets. Wait... one, two, three, four, five, _six._

"Um, guys? Where's Leo?" Percy asked, looking around for the small Latino boy.

Jason stopped his conversation with Frank and stopped to look around too.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all evening, actually." He said a slightly worried look crossing his face.

"Hey, he's probably on the Argo 2. Maybe he didn't like the party?" Piper suggested,

"yeah, that'll be it. Quit worrying Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said fondly smiling up at him.

The six walked up to the Argo 2 and boarded.

"It's quiet." Said Hazel looking around,

"yeah, too quiet." grinned Piper, trying to lighten the mood.

"What? No, I mean where's Festus? He's missing." She pointed to the empty spot on the prow where Festus was only hours before.

Percy shrugged, "maybe he broke and Leo took him off to fix him."

Annabeth stared at Percy in wonder, "did you just say something slightly smart? That's it. The world is ending."

"Hey! I can be smart too!" Percy whined pouting at her,

"guys! Come on something's wrong!" Exclaimed Frank, gesturing to the silent ship. Annabeth walked slowly up to the main control center, everything was silent. The only sign that the Argo 2 was on at all was the small green light and slight humming coming from the button labeled 'Stationary _(air)_'

"Look." said Jason, he was holding a sheet of paper. The others crowded round and scanned the paper. "Instructions." Annabeth muttered

"Instructions?" Hazel echoed, confused by the note.

"These," said Annabeth, taking the note and pointing. "Are detailed instructions on how to run the Argo 2, everything. Leo knows how to do all of this stuff, why did he write instructions?" She mused to herself, reading through the note again.

"Maybe, he felt ill and thought he wouldn't be able to fly you guys home?" Frank suggested,

"but he could have taken some nectar. It doesn't make sense..." Hazel trailed off while Frank looked sheepish.

"Let's look for him, he has to on this thing somewhere." Said Percy.

So they split up, Percy and Annabeth went to the engine room, Jason and Piper to Leo's room and Frank and Hazel to the kitchen.

In the engine room Leo's spare parts were gone. Everything that had shown that Leo worked done there was gone. The surfaces were blank. The tools lined up neatly and another set of instructions waited to be read. Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. They knew where Leo was.

In Leo's room his personal things were gone. All his clothes, washing things, bits and bobs for building with. All gone. Jason and Piper looked at each other. They knew where Leo was.

In the kitchen half the food was gone. All the things that would last without needing to be cooled and the chips and salsa that Leo loved and couldn't get enough of. Frank and Hazel looked at each other. They knew where Leo was.

Actually, none of them knew where he was. But they did all know one thing.

Leo was gone.

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**AN) How was it? Kind of short I know but I like suspense }:{) I am evil.**

**I won't be updating till Sunday midday (UK time _that's 8 hours ahead of this site)_ or tomorrow in the morning because I'm going to my friends B-Day party and sleeping over! Whoop! See you then! :D  
**

**Oh and REVIEW! :D  
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	3. Dreaming

**Hello my loyal minis! I mean readers!**

**Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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Leo ran. He ran away from Camp Jupiter all the way to San Francisco. He ended up in a back alley, out of breath and miserable.

_Tired already? You're more pathetic than I thought..._

Leo growled. He did not like this voice.

Shut up. He thought while the A.D.H.D part of his brain idly wondered if hearing a voice meant he was going crazy.

_Why would I do that? It's so much fun annoying you!_

The voice was sickly sweet and drawled on as if it was superior.

_Well that's because I am. Honestly, you really are stupid aren't you?_

Leo groaned and slid down the wall. What was he doing?

_You're helping them Leo. You don't belong. You always knew that, Nemesis only confirmed it. You're better off on you own._

Was it just him or did the voice sound sincere? Okay. Leo was officially confused.

_Why Leo? I'm trying to help._

You're not doing a very good job. Telling me I'm pathetic and stuff...

_I have communication issues._

Well, isn't this great! I'm having a conversation with _a voice in my head _about communication issues!

_No need to be like that! I find that rather rude!_

Leo groaned out loud and hit his head on the wall behind him, he took a deep breath and pulled Festus' head out of his tool belt and placed it on the ground in front of him.

In seconds he had one celestial bronze dragon head in front of him. "Hey Festus," Leo greeted happily patting his dragon on the top of his head. Festus creaked, and tilted his head slightly,

"What? You know why I had to go. I didn't belong. I'm just the Repair Boy." Leo muttered bitterly chucking a stone down the alley, it surprised him how much he hated to not be noticed. But then he had always been like this. Happy on the outside, filled with angst inside. Well at least ever since...

_Feeling guilty? You should be. It was your fault._

I know. You said.

This voice was really starting to annoy him.

_Only just starting? Hmmm. I'm going to have to step up my game._

Yeah. You say communication issues, I say crazed sadist.

_Well technically since I'm in your head that makes YOU the crazed sadist._

"Grrrrrrrrr. Shut up!" Leo yelled out loud causing Festus to tilt his head at Leo and look slightly hurt.

"Oh no, not you Festus, the voice in my head... And now I just sound crazy. Great."

_Well you are crazy so you should sound crazy._

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Leo cried grabbing his hair and pulling on it, as thought that would help keep the voice quiet. Festus looked worried which was quite impressive for a metal dragon. He creaked some more to the troubled boy in front of him.

"Hmm? Go to sleep? Yeah... that might help..." Leo mumbled, almost to himself and slowly lay down, using his backpack as a pillow and lighting a tiny fire next to him to keep him warm.

Leo closed his eyes.

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It was a horrible dream.

_The rest of the seven were there with all the Greeks and Romans. Piper, Hazel and Frank were all sporting angry red burns on their faces and arms._

"_You idiot Leo! You could've killed them!" Yelled Jason pushing Leo to the ground,_

"_what were you thinking!? Pulling a stunt like that!" Shouted Percy, barely restrained anger showed in his stormy sea-green eyes. _

"_I don't- I'm sorry!" Cried Leo, he didn't know what he had done. All he knew was that they were hurt and it was his fault._

"_Don't you dare say you're sorry! How could you! We aren't all fire-proof!" Yelled the usually calm Frank, surging forward to hurt Leo, only to be stopped by Hazel._

"_Why?" She asked in such a hopeless voice that made Leo just want to die._

"_I don't- I didn't- I can't -" Leo stuttered, he could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks, he hadn't cried since his mother's death but this was just as painful._

"_Freak!"_

"_Loser!"_

"_What's wrong with you!?"_

_Those were the shouts coming from the_ crowd_ behind the six demigods in front of him. Then Chiron and Reyna came forward,_

"_You're too dangerous Leo. I'm sorry. You can't come back to Camp Half-Blood."_

"_Bu- I didn't-" Leo stammered, they were abandoning him. Like everyone always did._

"_You are not welcome in New Rome either. Good bye Leo." Said Reyna curtly turning on her heel and following Chiron to the mob of Greek and Roman demigods._

_They all faded leaving Leo with the six in front of him._

"_I'm sorry. Please. I don't know what- but I didn't- and I don't-" Leo manage to say between gasps of air to repress the oncoming sobs._

"_Look at him. Pathetic." Sneered Piper_

"_Yeah, Nyssa was right. Fire-Users are bad luck." Laughed Jason, putting his arm round Piper's shoulders,_

"_stupid. Sammy was better than you. It's a shame that his great-grandson turned out to be you." Sighed Hazel smirking, Frank grinned wickedly and they interlocked fingers._

"_He's just a waste of space. Can't fight, can't think. The only thing he's good at is setting things on fire." They laughed._

"_Too bad he's a failure. We could have used him." Said Annabeth looking sadly up at Percy._

"_Oh well, there'll be more."_

_They all turned and walked away, leaving Leo in the darkness. _

He was alone.

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**AN) Sooooooo? What do you guys think? REVIEW! **

**BTW I won't be able to update till tomorrow midday as I am going to my friend's sleepover! Whoop! Go Beany! :D**


	4. Arguing

**Hello Chickens! Here is the next chapter! **

**Was the wait killing you? I am evil... }:{)  
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**Enjoy!  
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Nyssa couldn't believe it.

He was gone.

Her happy, troll-ish little brother who's firsts words to her had been;

"_Cool! I always wanted a sister who could beat me up!"_

Was gone.

The rest of Cabin 9 had been devastated when the rest of the seven had returned without him, the whole camp had immediately set to work to try to find him. Apparently the Roman's were already scouting San Francisco for him...

"But he could be anywhere!" Nyssa yelled, slamming her hands down onto the table in front of her.

"Calm down Nyssa. Getting angry won't help anyone." Soothed Chiron, gently guiding her back to her seat.

"I'm sorry Nyssa but the Roman's don't exactly like Leo that much. He did attack Camp Jupiter." Jason tried to reason, holding his hands up in surrender.

"They should still help! He's one of the seven!" Nyssa cried, "oh well, we'll find him on our own.." She muttered, crossing her arms and slumping down into her seat.

"Nyssa's right. We need to do something," Hazel said looking round at the cabin counselors with determined golden eyes. Frank nodded while squeezing her hand gently.

"We should've noticed! How could we miss something like this! He could've left at anytime and we didn't notice till it was to late!" Percy yelled, clenching his fists in fury.

"Your damn right you should've! We've lost a camper now, thanks to your ignorance!" Surprisingly it was Clarisse who said this, she stood up and glared at the seven, "this is all your fault! Because you didn't recognize his importance we've lost a valuable asset!"

Everyone sat in shock for a moment while Annabeth looked like she wanted to throttle Clarisse...

"We get it! But arguing amongst ourselves isn't helping! Leo is out there on his own, and we aren't even trying to help him! So just Shut Up!" Piper screamed, charmspeak flowing through her voice which made everyone stop arguing straight away.

"Good, now we nee-" began Chiron, when Leo's little brother Harley came running in, tripping over his feet in his hurry and landing in Clovis' lap. Clovis didn't wake up.

He didn't even wake up when Harley climbed on top of top of him to get on eye level with the other people in the room.

"Harley?"Asked Nyssa gently, reaching out to touch the six year old.

"Festus...Message...Leo." Was all Harley managed to get out before slumping back onto Clovis and handing a piece of paper to Katie, who was sat next to him.

"Um. It's just dots and lines..." Katie said turning it over and holding it up to the light as if that would help decipher the message.

"Morse code!" Cried Annabeth, reaching over the table to snatch the note away from Katie. She eagerly began to read it while jotting down letters with a pen that had appeared out of nowhere,

"um, not that I'm complaining but since when did you learn Morse code?" Asked Percy peering over Annabeth's shoulder at the dots and dashes that she was busy deciphering.

"I was bored so I learnt it."

"Um... okay?" Percy said awkwardly, his eyes shifting from Annabeth's face to everyone else's to see what they thought. All he got were smirks and slight snickers. Percy made a face. They all waited for her to decode the message in silence. Well, except for Butch who was showing Harley how to shove pencils into Clovis' nostrils, and Chiron who was giving them a disapproving look. Percy was laughing quietly to himself.

He stopped when he heard Annabeth take a sharp breath in.

"What is it?" He asked looking at his girlfriends frowning face as she read through Festus' note again, lips moving in time with the words.

"The note. Leo... it's not good." She said quietly,

"what does it say?" Asked Butch, abandoning his pencils in favor of listening.

Annabeth cleared her throat and began...

_Sent by: Festus_

_Receiver(s): Bunker 9 _

_Exact Location: Unknown (San Francisco)_

_Leo is not well. _

_He is hearing a voice that isn't there and he hasn't eaten or slept properly since we left camp. _

_I am worried. _

_He does nothing but run and talk to himself. _

_We are in a wood somewhere _**(AN) I am making the location stuff up as I have nooo idea what San Francisco is like...)**

_You need to find us soon. _

_I don't know how much more he can take._

"That's it." Annabeth said shakily, looking up at the shocked faces around her.

"Voices?" Whispered Piper, a hand over her mouth and her eyes tearing up.

"That's what it says..." Muttered Annabeth, handing the note to Chiron in a daze, gripping Percy with her free hand.

The table sat in quiet shock, until Chiron stood up.

"We have to find him. We know vaguely where they are now. Annabeth, you will lead the search as you live in San Francisco, you will take the chariots and Pegasi. Take a team of 15 with you."

"Yes Chiron." Annabeth said, standing up along with the other members of the seven.

"Thalia and the Hunters are in San Francisco, I think. She IM-ed me the other night." Jason said looking at Chiron, "they could help..." He trailed off uncertainly.

"Maybe, I will IM them later, for now you need to go!"

"Come on!" Cried Percy as he and Annabeth ran out of the the Big House, followed by the rest of the seven.

They were coming.

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**AN) How was it? Please review! I honestly don't know what I'm going to write next so please give me time! Thanks! :D**

**REVIEW! :D  
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	5. Finding

**Hello again! Sorry about the wait... I'm lazy**

**Enjoy!**

**_(I keep forgetting to do these...)_  
**

**__Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson... I wish I did...  
**

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It had been three days. Three days of running and yelling at a voice in his head. Joy.

Festus was annoying him, when ever Leo got him out he would just tell Leo he needed to eat and sleep. He was eating! Just not much... It was better this way anyway, being hungry kept him alert, as long as he ate enough to keep him going... And it wasn't like he didn't want to sleep... He just couldn't, for two reasons;

a) He kept having the same nightmare.

b) If he stayed in the same place for too long they would find him.

Leo slumped against a tree and dropped his backpack to the floor.

_Giving up already?_

No. But I do need time to rest, I'm not a machine.

_Still. You need to move._

Why? So you can whine that I'm not going fast enough? I don't think so.

_No! They're coming!_

Who?

_The ones you ran from!_

Perfect.

Leo got up and pulled out Festus, he would scan the area for Leo. Just to make sure the voice wasn't telling the truth.

The bronze dragon head soon appeared on the floor in front of him.

"Hey Festus, look I need you to scan the area for anyone coming for me, k?" Leo said quickly, bending down to get onto Festus' level.

After a few creaks Leo straightened up, horrified.

"You sent them a message!?" He cried, beginning to pace and pull on his hair. "Why would you do that?" He asked,

"you were worried?! I'm fine! I left for a reason! I don't _want _them to find me!" Leo yelled, rounding on Festus and kicking a stone away in frustration.

_Run, Quickly! Go!_

"Right... yeah..." Leo muttered, before folding Festus back up and grabbing his backpack. He knew Festus had betrayed him, but he couldn't bear to leave his dragon in case no one found him. Leo wouldn't be able to take that.

_Why are you bringing the dragon? He betrayed you! _

He's my friend. At least let me keep him till I can find somewhere proper to put him. Somewhere where the others will find him.

_Very well... _

Wait. Since when did he have to ask the voice in his head for permission to do stuff?

_Since you left._

I hate you.

_That means you hate yourself._

Finally we agree on something!

Leo started running.

He ran for half an hour through the wood before coming to a stop and looking up at the sky... There! Several little dots, all splitting up till three were left. Coming straight for him.

Leo was out of breath. He just needed a sec-

_No! Keep going they're there!_

I can't. Just a few minutes. Even if they find me, they won't catch me. I'm too fast.

_They have chariots, pegasi and Arion. They are also extremely powerful and one can turn into a cheetah! _

But they're trained! That's the point! They think they can catch me! Ha! As if. This will be fun. Just you wait.

Gradually the dots got bigger before landing in the large clearing a few minutes away. Leo knew they had seen him. He just stood there and waited after he had got Festus out. He couldn't keep him now.

There was loud crashing before the rest of the seven came tumbling through the undergrowth.

"Leo!" They all cried happily. Hazel stepped forward,

"come on Leo. Let's go back to camp." She smiled and held out her hand to him.

"Why?"

This question confused the other demigods. What did he mean why? Didn't he want to come back?

Annabeth came forward, "Leo... We know about the voice okay? If it's stopping you from coming back... then don't listen to it!"

"He told you." Leo stated nodding at Festus.

"Yeah, but Leo! We can help you! Just come back!" Frank said, him and the others joining Hazel and Annabeth.

"Who says I need help? Who says I want it?" Leo spat at his almost friends.

"We understand why you left! It won't be like that anymore! Please Leo." Jason pleaded with his friend.

"You _understand?" _Leo laughed coldly, "tell me, do you understand how it feels? How it feels to be worthless, overlooked, invisible?Do you know what's it's like to know that you don't belong _anywhere?_ And that it's all your fault? You guys have _no _idea what that feels like."

"Leo... We're sorry-" Piper began,

"save it. I don't need anything or anyone. I'll just mess up again."

With that Leo turned and bolted in to the woods behind him.

He kept on running, laughing at his friends attempts to catch him.

_You were right. That was fun. I enjoyed that._

Told you.

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**AN) How was that? Worth the wait I hope!**

**Please Review! I love hearing what you guys think!  
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**REVIEW!  
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	6. Escaping

**Ok guys! Here's the next chapter! Sorry about the wait! **

**Enjoy!**

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Jason was shocked. He had expected Leo to come with them, he thought Leo would jump at the chance to come home. He was wrong.

As Leo spoke Jason saw the horrible burning _pain _in his friends eyes. Eyes that had looked far to old in Leo's face. No. This was wrong. Those eyes weren't Leo's. Leo's eyes spoke of mischief and joy. Not pain and sadness. But apparently they did hold pain. They did know suffering. And this realization hit Jason in the face like a punch.

Jason also hadn't expected Leo run. He thought his friend had more common sense than to think he could escape.

But here he was trying to catch the fastest person he had ever seen.

Jason could only try to catch up to his friend. Leo laughed and teased them all by _almost_ letting them get him before speeding off again.

However, Jason was sure that even if they couldn't catch him on foot that after Frank turned into a cheetah and Percy, him and Hazel had summoned their respective 'horses', that Leo would be caught quickly.

He was wrong.

Jason was not afraid to say that what he was watching was easily the most impressive thing he had ever seen.

Leo may not have been faster than Frank or Arion, but he was somehow avoiding them like he knew what they were about to do.

Percy and Annabeth came swooping down on Blackjack, trying to catch the small latino boy, but Leo rolled under their hands. What was more impressive than that was that he somehow managed to change direction mid-roll to dodge Frank before springing to his feet and shooting off again. He dodged his and Piper's attempts to grab him from Tempest, changing direction faster than they could blink. He continued to weave around them, like this was all some hilarious game, laughing happily as he evaded Hazel's hands.

Jason had given up on trying to catch Leo after about five minutes. That kid was just to fast. For all his and the others extensive training and faster transport they were never going to catch him. Jason pulled Tempest up next to where Percy had dropped Annabeth off,

"how is he doing that?" Jason asked as they watched Leo skid out of the way of Arion again before hurdling over Frank. Laughing all the way.

"I don't know... I have no idea." Annabeth said slowly, shaking her head in disbelief.

Piper jumped off Tempest from behind Jason, "we're never going to catch him like this. He ran away seven times... he knows how to avoid people..."

"But that's running away from Mortals! Not six demigods and several _very _fast... horses..." Annabeth faltered at the last word, glancing at Tempest uncertainly.

"All that matters is that he's doing...it..." Jason slowed his words as he started paying attention to Hazel. She had ridden Arion to the far end of the large field they'ed ended up in. Now she turned him and shot towards Leo. Time slowed down.

Jason saw Leo look at Arion and then at Percy and Frank who were coming at him from the other angles. No escape.

Jason was sure that his friend would be smeared into the ground in seconds, when Leo did the stupidest thing Jason had ever seen.

He smiled and started running _towards _Arion.

Jason was aware he was yelling. Him and everyone else.

Leo hit the floor and slid. Straight at Arion's moving hooves.

Hazel was madly trying to get Arion to slow down. It wasn't working.

Arion and Leo collided.

At least... they should have, but by some _miracle _Leo had passed _under _the fastest horse in the world. Completely unscathed.

Hazel just managed to stop Arion before she, Percy and Frank crashed into each other. By the time Jason and the others had got them untangled Leo was gone.

"I could still-" Hazel started, while rubbing her shoulder.

"No. It's pointless. We're never going to catch him! He just avoided _all of us! _And he managed to slide _UNDER _Arion! While the stupid horse was moving as well! I'm pretty sure that should be impossible." Frank cried, swiveling his ankles and wrists to release the stiffness.

"We can't catch him with speed and agility... We need to trick him!" Annabeth said, holding up a finger in a 'lightbulb moment' pose.

"How?" Asked Piper, her mind still reeling from what she'd just seen. How had Leo just _done that? _More to the point, why hadn't he done that when they were fighting during the war? If he'd shown them how to do that... Well, it would've helped!

"I don't know... Maybe we should go back to the other pegasi... I'm pretty sure Leo left Festus back there..." Annabeth answered, starting back to where they had first found Leo.

When they got there they found several grumpy pegasi and Festus' head. Lying there, looking as forlorn as he could.

"How could we let him get away?" Growled Percy, sticking a stick away in frustration.

"Stop it. We've already been over this. Getting angry won't help. We need to find him. Didn't you guys notice how thin and pale he was? He's not going to last much longer like this." Piper said gripping Jason's hand from worry.

"We should go back to camp. I can talk to my siblings and we can figure something out." Annabeth said, mounting her pegasus and getting ready to head off.

They were going back to camp. Leo-less.

Cabin 9 wasn't going to be happy.

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**AN) Kind of short but hey. I like it that way.**

**I won't update till after christmas. Two old ladies with dementia and who will probably hate each other... That's my christmas this year! Joy...**


	7. Talking

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry it took me a while to update, I've been working on another story...  
**

**Oh, and I take back my last author's note. Christmas wasn't that bad... :)  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson...yet...  
**

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Leo wasn't _quite_ sure how he'd managed to get surrounded by a group of grumpy looking girls in silver with bows... It had just happened.

The only person he recognized was Thalia and...Phoebe? Yeah... her too.

The rest looked between the ages of 8 and 16 but all equally grumpy. Leo wondered why...

"So you managed to get away from Jason and the others, I'm half impressed but you do know we're going to take you back to camp now right?" Thalia said, lowering her bow and stepping forward out of the circle of Hunters.

"Heck yeah! I was awesome! You should've seen it! But... About camp... I'm gonna have to pass." Leo mumbled slightly at the end and suddenly became very interested in his fingernails, but only for a bit before he looked up grinning.

"Besides, s'not like I'm missing out on anything,"

"the matter is not up for debate. You are coming with us. Now."

Leo looked curiously at the girl who'd spoken. She was easily the youngest, around 8 but Leo wasn't sure that she was as harmless as she seemed...

_That is Artemis_

Really? I would've thought she'd be taller.

_Do not let her appearance fool you. She is very powerful._

No _mierda,_ Sherlock. She's a Goddess.

"Ah, I take it you're Artemis? T'is an honor my lady." Leo bowed mockingly much to Artemis' fury,

"insolent boy! I should kill you now and be done with it!"

Thalia bent down and whispered something in her ear quickly,

"fortunately for you I owe the seven a favor and it seems it is to take you back to camp..." Artemis looked quite sour now which looked odd on her young face.

Leo laughed, "gotta catch me first."

He took off into the woods as the Hunters gave chase.

Leo had to hand it to the Hunters, they were better at chasing than the seven. These guys were shooting at him with arrows and were much closer to his speed! A challenge.

_A challenge?! You just get out of there!_

Why? Leo asked as he dodged another arrow, I'm having fun

_They'll catch you!_

Maybe... maybe not... why don't we find out?

Leo whooped and rolled to avoid Artemis, changing direction mid-roll to avoid a very frustrated looking Thalia.

Then Leo saw it. The perfect tree, with easy footholds and sturdy branches...

"Hey ladies! Why don't we mix this up a bit?" He called out, as he ducked yet another silver arrow.

He leapt onto the tree and scrambled up as he heard the thwacking of arrows near his shoes.

Leo didn't pause for breath, he hurried across the branches narrowly avoiding arrows.

He finally came to the end of the branch, looking down at all hunters with a smirk.

"What are you doing?" Thalia called up to him, bow raised and aimed.

"Being awesome!" He yelled back.

He jumped.

Leo went sailing through the air and _just _managed to grab the branch stretching out from the next tree.

He whooped in success and repeated this through the rest of the chase.

The hunter's tried to follow him but he was to fast for them.

* * *

Finally Leo lost them.

Half laughing, half panting, he slid down a tree to sit on the floor.

_What was that?_

Me. Being awesome

_You could've been caught._

But I wasn't

_That's not the point_

Then what is?

_Stop risking everything!_

Why? What have I got to loose?

_More than you would think._

You know, you are irritating me with your mysteriousness.

_I would hope so_

Seriously, you're a voice in my head. You have no power in the real world, so, you don't know if I have anything to loose.

_You'd be surprised_

Are you, like, a creepy god or something? Because if you are then can you say so, because I feel crazy at the moment.

_I'm not a god_

Goddess?

_No._

Fabulous.

_That doesn't mean I'm just a voice in your head though..._

Care to share?

_Not really. _

That's selfish.

_Do I look like I care?_

You don't have a face.

_I do! You just can't see it..._

There's not much difference

_Says you, I happen to be quite pretty._

You're a voice in my head!

_No I'm not! Well, I am... But I'm someone else to! _

Are you going to tell me who you are?

_Not yet... Maybe... You probably won't know who I am anyway..._

Then why can't you tell me?

_Where's the fun in that? _

You annoy me...

_I know, that's my job._

You need a new one.

_I don't have much of a choice... Dad can be so irritating sometimes..._

Dad? Who's Dad?

_Wouldn't you like to know... Oh poo... I forgot to do something, I'll be back later._

Leo felt like he was talking to a friend on the phone, not a strange voice in his head. His life was seriously messed up.

Then Leo realized something. The voice had stopped sounding so mature and sleepy, now it sounded more like a hyper-active 14 year-old girl who lived to annoy... How odd...

_So, I'm back. Almost unlimited power can have it's drawbacks sometimes..._

You have almost unlimited power?

_Yes... But, sometimes I actually have to do things... I'm lazy..._

I see?

_Oh poo, I'm weirding you out now, aren't I?_

You were weird before, now this is bordering on disturbing...

_Great... Well, blame Dad. I'm just following orders. I happen to be very nice in person._

I'm sure...

_No! I am! I'm just a bit out of practice..._

Out of practice?

_Okay, so I haven't actually had a friend for several centuries... But I'm getting there!_

Several centuries!? How old are you?

_I don't know... I've lost track..._

Okay... _Now _I'm weirded out.

_Yay! Oh wait no. That's bad... poo..._

Why do you keep saying poo?

_Because I'm immature... It's fun really..._

Oh Kay... I'm going to ignore you now...

_Awwww! Come on! I'm not that bad am I? At least I noticed you!_

What do you mean?

_I've been watching you...Oh no! I just sounded like a stalker! I'm not! Honestly! What I mean is that I was watching all of the Seven... and you were my favorite!_

Really?

_Sure! I mean the others are cool and all but you sir were AWESOME! They wouldn't have gotten anywhere without you! Who Built the Argo? You. Who drove them to Greece? You. Who was the most awesome? LEO! They would have totally died if you weren't there._

Thanks... But if you like me so much then what was with the stuff back at camp? That was mean...

_Oh my gosh! I'm sooo sorry about that! That was just to get you to run away... I'm seriously sorry about that..._

What about the stuff with Festus?

_I have betrayal issues... I have lots of issues..._

I can tell...

_Hey! You're messed up to!_

Let's not get into that conversation... Are you going to tell me who you are now?

_No._

Can you be quiet now? I'm tired...

_Sure..._

Leo smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Are we ready?"

"Yeah... Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course! How could it not?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this..."

"It'll be fine... We'll get him back."

* * *

**AN) Soooo? How was it? **

**The plot thickens... I am very evil aren't I?  
**

**Please REVIEW!  
**


	8. Thinking

**Hey Guys.**

**Soooo... I haven't updated in AGES and then I give you this horrendous chapter... Don't kill me. I had school, even though that excuse sucks. It's the truth. **

**Anyway... On with the chapter  
**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN PERCY JACKSON! Which sucks for me...  
**

* * *

While Leo was running from the Hunters and chatting to voice (read: a hyper girl who may or may not be real), Camp Half-blood had been preparing the plan to get him back.

The scene when the seven got back hadn't been fun...

**-Flashback!-Pretend there's harp music and the screen is waving!-Just pretend!**

_Cabin 9 was waiting for them as they landed and dismounted their various horses._

"_Well? Where is he?" Asked Nyssa, stepping forward and crossing her arms._

_All eyes moved to Percy, Jason and Annabeth. Percy coughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "um...Well, you see...The thing is... Annabeth?" _

_Annabeth internally groaned. Of course she would be the one to explain things..._

"_Okay, here's the thing... We didn't catch him. We underestimated him and overestimated ourselves. But... I think we can still get him, we just have to trick him."_

_What do you mean you didn't get him? How could not catch him!? It can't be that hard!" Jake cried, stepping out of the group to join Nyssa._

"_He's too fast. But, we can still catch him."_

"_How?" Asked Nyssa, her frown increasing the more Annabeth spoke._

"_I'm not sure... I'll need to talk to my siblings."_

"_Great. In the mean time, did he say anything?"_

"_Yeah... He did..."_

"_Well? You going to tell us or not?" _

"_He said... He said we didn't understand."_

"_Understand what?"_

"_How he felt. How it felt to be invisible and overlooked..."_

"_Why would he think that?"_

"_I think I know."_

_Everyone turned to look at Hazel, who'd stepped away from Arion to join Annabeth and the others._

"_I'd forgotten about it, because the quest was all so hectic, but I remember now."_

"_What?"_

"_When me and Leo went to get supplies after he'd attacked Camp Jupiter. We met Nemesis."_

"_Nemesis? What did she say?"_

"_It was odd because she looked like two different people."_

"_How do you mean?"_

"_She looked like one person to me but Leo said she looked like his Aunt Rosa... Anyway, she said some stuff that must have started all this."_

"_What did she say?"_

"_Um... She said:_

_And as for you, child of worst hardships are yet to come. You always will be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren."_

"_And he believes that?"_

"_I suppose... We didn't really pay much attention to him or thank him much."_

_Nyssa and the rest of Cabin 9 looked distraught as they realized they'd never really done anything for their brother._

"_You guys have work to be doing, and so do we. Come on guys."_

_Nyssa held a stony expression as she led her worried siblings away, actually having to drag Harley away towards the forges._

_The seven looked on, feeling even guiltier than before._

**-End of Flashback!-Pretend there's more harp music and the screen is waving again!-Just pretend!-**

Now, nearly the whole camp stood, waiting for orders.

Annabeth stepped forward again.

"The plan is simple. My siblings and I have worked out where Leo should be, we get in and surround him. He won't be expecting the whole camp to come for him. It'll through him off, that's what we're counting on. Everybody ready?"

A resounding cheer sounded through the crowds of demigods. All were eager to get the son of Hephaestus back, he had been a friend to them all at some point or another. Leo's siblings led this cheer; each one of them missed their brother and desperately wanted him home.

"Right! Then let's go!" Percy shouted and the crowds took of for the Argo II, which had had Festus' head, re-attached and brought out especially for the search.

They were going to find him.

So, O powerful one. Will you tell me who you are today?

_...Nah. I don't feel like it._

That's irritating

_Tough cookie._

I have a question

_Really? Do enlighten me._

Why are you talking to me?

'_Coz I want to?_

Really?

_Dad says he can 'help' you... whatever that means and so he said to me. And I quote;_

_Get him away from the camp. Be mean, chip away at his confidence. Then befriend him._

That doesn't make sense. At all.

_I know that, and you know that. But the big boss man apparently doesn't know what the word contradicting means..._

I can see that.

_..._

Um... Heeelo? Mysterious girl in my head? Man that sounds crazy...

_..._

Great.

Leo sighed and got up off the forest floor, dusting off his jeans and grabbing his backpack and set off in the general direction he was headed before he'd taken a rest.

He'd now been gone for a whole week; true he was doing better than before but there was still a slightly hollow feeling in his chest.

Longing.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Leo missed camp. He missed the cabins and the campfires, the campers and the satyrs. But most of all he missed his friends. Even though he had been forgotten a bit he supposed it was just because of the war, and the fact that they were searching for him must mean that they wanted him back.

Then why did I run in the first place?

Because it was habit. Every time people began to forget about him or started to not treat him well, he ran. It was just his way of protecting himself...

Leo sighed again.

Life really hated him.

* * *

**AN) *PLEASE READ THIS IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!***

**Okay guys. I really don't know _where_ this story is going anymore, so I'm going to let you decide. I've got several ideas for the ending but I'm not sure which one to use. There's a poll on my profile with the choices of ending for you guys to vote on. The winner will obviously be revealed in the next chapter. So please vote and help me out! It should be on there soon... But... Yeah!  
**

**VOTE! :D  
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**SWIA (shewhoisawesome)  
**


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